The use of touch-sensitive surfaces as input devices for computers and other electronic computing devices has increased significantly in recent years. Exemplary touch-sensitive surfaces include touch pads and touch screen displays. Such surfaces are widely used to select, launch, and manage software applications.
For portable electronic devices, existing methods for managing multiple recently used applications are cumbersome and inefficient. For example, portable devices with small screens (e.g., smart phones and other pocket-sized devices) typically display a single application at a time. With such devices, a user may have difficulty seeing and managing multiple recently used applications. This situation creates a significant cognitive burden on a user. In addition, existing methods for managing recently used applications take longer than necessary, thereby wasting energy. This latter consideration is particularly important in battery-operated devices.